This is a super interesting trend that I'd like your guys thoughts on.

Right now, we've reached a seemingly positive development, where there are now just 2.2 unemployed folks for every job opening. This is a really good spike over the past couple years -- yet companies are extremely hesitant to hire.

The question is, why?

My theory is two-fold, and perhaps you guys can offer your own theories.

1. Companies have jacked up the expected productivity of their workers to such a ridiculous extent that even though job openings are technically presenting themselves, companies aren't feeling the need to fill them. The ridiculous rise in productivity without a subsequent rise in wages has allowed companies to get more out of each employee for less.

2. Companies have trillions of dollars sitting in their coffers that they simply haven't invested since the recession hit. Companies cut tons of workers, went into extreme austerity, and now that the economy has come out of the recession and their sheets show them deep in the black, they simply haven't invested it like they normally would have prior to the recession. And this can be borne out in the (non-)hiring trends.

Companies posted more job openings in April. Now if only they’d fill them.

There were 4.5 million jobs available in the U.S. at the end of April, the most since August 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday. Job postings are up 16.5 percent over the past year and have more than doubled since their 2009 low.

Actual hiring, however, is a different story. Hires were essentially flat in April and are up less than 6 percent over the past year. This has been a persistent pattern in the recovery, as the above chart shows.

One reason for the faster rebound in openings is that they fell further during the recession; companies pulled back on posting jobs even more than they did on hiring. But that isn’t the whole story. The ratio of hires to openings, which spiked during the recession, has fallen steadily through the recovery and is now below normal levels. That suggests companies aren’t filling available jobs at their usual pace.

(An important note on this chart: The BLS reports hires and openings differently. Openings are counted at a moment in time — the number of jobs available at the end of the month — while hires are a total for the whole month. So a one-to-one hires-to-openings ratio doesn’t mean every job was filled, because some jobs get posted and filled within a month, and therefore never show up in the data. So pay attention to the trend, not the absolute numbers.)

It isn’t clear what’s behind that reluctance to hire. Many employers, particularly in industries such as construction, blame a shortage of workers with the necessary skills. Some economists, meanwhile, argue that companies are struggling to fill jobs because there are fewer available workers than the 6.3 percent unemployment rate might suggest. But there’s reason for skepticism about both claims: Wage growth remains anemic (though that may, at last, be changing), which suggests employers aren’t being forced to pay more to attract workers.

The most likely explanation remains the simplest: the weak recovery. Companies are seeing more demand for their products, so they’re posting job openings, but that demand isn’t yet strong enough for them to fill those positions quickly. They’re content to wait for the perfect candidate to show up. (In economics jargon, companies’ “recruiting intensity” remains low, as it has been throughout the recovery.)

The good news for the unemployed is that more openings means more chances to land a job. There were 2.2 jobseekers for every available position in April, the best ratio since before the recession began. But those openings don’t mean much if companies won’t fill them.

There are literally millions of tech jobs available that companies can't fill because colleges are cranking out students equipped for jobs from a decade ago, not jobs from today. Most kids coming out of college use their computers as masturbation and entertainment aids, rather than creation and problem solving stations.

I know or am involved with 2 companies that have halted hiring at 49 employees. There is a need, but the only new hires are in replacement by retirement or elimination of part time people or at the expense of internships. I wonder why companies wouldn't hire a 50th person.......

I agree that many college grads appear to have little interest in actual work, ridiculous expectations and have a desire to be catered to. There are some good ones out there but there are pretty significant numbers of job seekers that it is pretty obvious why they aren't getting the positions.

I know or am involved with 2 companies that have halted hiring at 49 employees. There is a need, but the only new hires are in replacement by retirement or elimination of part time people or at the expense of internships. I wonder why companies wouldn't hire a 50th person.......

There are literally millions of tech jobs available that companies can't fill because colleges are cranking out students equipped for jobs from a decade ago, not jobs from today. Most kids coming out of college use their computers as masturbation and entertainment aids, rather than creation and problem solving stations.

Not everyone can program code.. And the ones that can are going to unwittingly write themselves out of a job once AI becomes cheap.

A country that doesn't make anything anymore can only sell itself so many manicures and cheeseburgers before the money runs out.

We do make quite a bit of stuff. We don't make high quantity, low price goods because that can be done in Asia cheaper (although with the massive inflation in Chinese wages, the question of how much longer that will hold is very relevant).

Yes you are exactly right about the schools. They are making non experienced graduates believe they will walk off that stage and have multiple hiring managers waiting right there to hire them. For a job that starts the following Monday that pays 60K with a 10K signing bonus, 4 weeks of vacation, 10 days of sick leave, and company paid lunches every day. Yes that is a bit of an exaggeration but the colleges are feeding the students unrealistic expectations. Especially those with little to no real world experience in their chosen field.

I disagree. There are several classes I have to take and spend a huge amount of time having us research that shows our chosen professional median and beginning income as well as statistics on previous graduates . Despite that they still graduate hundreds each semester from the art programs.

Too many buy into the chase your dreams mentality without having the slightest notion of practicality.